


Peanut

by Lichinamo



Category: Starship - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Familial Relationships, Fluff, Gen, It’s an au of an au, John is a great Uncle, a million degrees of separation, child character, so like
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24222646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lichinamo/pseuds/Lichinamo
Summary: John pressed a gentle kiss to Meg’s temple. “Hey Peanut. You excited for today?”Meg squirmed in his arms happily, giggling at him. “Yeah! We’re gonna see the peng- peng-““Penguins, honey,” John finished for her, bopping her nose with his finger. “And there’s gonna be a ton of fish for us to see, too. Isn’t that great?”————————-AU where John McNamara is an Uncle who takes his niece to the aquarium. Just some fluff
Relationships: Mega-Girl & John McNamara
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: Uncle John Verse





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> idea came from a discord server
> 
> Meg is Mega-Girl from Starship but, you know, not a robot

June, 2009

John sighed impatiently as he waited for his sister to arrive, tapping his foot as he stared down at his watch. It was just like Sarah to be late.

He leaned against the wall of their parents’ house and sighed. Very rarely did Sarah allow him to see his niece due to her fear of him being a “bad influence” on her- and by that, she meant that she feared that Meg would be more artistically inclined. Despite both of their parents being artists, Sarah had decided that art was the devil, and that her daughter would have nothing to do with it- so if John, an art history major, brought anything that even resembled art around her baby girl, he’d be banned quicker than he could say Rembrandt.

John had just barely closed his eyes when he heard the sound of gravel crunching under tires. God, finally. He quickly hid his frustration, plastering on a grin instead, as he pushed himself away from the wall and made his way towards Sarah’s 2005 Toyota Avalon.

He crouched down on the ground, arms open and ready, as the car door swung open and a small mass flung herself across the driveway and into his arms with a squeal.

“Uncle John!” Meg cried happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

John wrapped her up in a hug and got her settled on his hip as he stood up. She’d certainly gotten bigger since the last time he’d seen her, but that was to be expected- healthy four year olds should be sprouting up like weeds, and he’d be pretty concerned if she hadn’t grown at all since Christmas.

John looked down at his niece with a soft smile, brushing her hair out of her face. Sarah was finally starting to learn how to take care of Meg’s curls- it had been a rude awakening for Sarah, realizing that her daughter had textured hair that needed to be cared for carefully.

John pressed a gentle kiss to Meg’s temple. “Hey Peanut. You excited for today?”

Meg squirmed in his arms happily, giggling at him. “Yeah! We’re gonna see the peng- peng-“

“Penguins, honey,” John finished for her, bopping her nose with his finger. “And there’s gonna be a ton of fish for us to see, too. Isn’t that great?”

“Yeah!” Meg squealed happily, thrumming her tiny hands against him in joy.

“First we have to say bye to Mommy, though, then we can go, okay?” John glanced over at his sister, who was leaning against the car and smoking a cigarette.

John and Sarah McNamara had never had a very good relationship, to say the least. He’d been born a good seven years after her, which had fostered a lot of resentment on her part. And John was never one to just roll over and accept someone’s hostility. Honestly, if they didn’t have Meg to give them some common ground, they probably wouldn’t speak at all- and even then, their relationship was shaky at best.

Meg turned to face her mother and gave her an excited wave, completely oblivious to the negative relationship between the two adults surrounding her. “Bye Mommy! I love you!”

Sarah finished off her cigarette, dropped it onto the gravel, and stomped it out. “Bye Margaret. Be good for Uncle John.” With that, Sarah McNamara got back into her car and drove away, not even giving her own daughter a hug or kiss goodbye.

John internally stomped down on the rage that flared up inside him. He knew Sarah was a shit mother, but to not even tell Meg that she loved her? It made him sick. 

He’d just have to love her enough for the both of them, then.

He tried not to sigh as he adjusted Meg in his arms again, glad his car keys were already in his pocket as he headed over to his Jeep. “Come on, Peanut, let’s get you strapped in.”

Meg tugged on his hair- he probably should’ve pulled it back with a hair tie so she couldn’t do that, but he’d forgotten about that habit of hers- to get his attention. “Uncle John, I don’t need a car seat no more. I’m a big girl.” She didn’t say it as if she was trying to convince him- she said it as if it was an indisputable fact, something that couldn’t be argued with.

John stopped walking, hand hooked around the door handle, heart faltering in his chest. “What d’you mean, honey? Big girls sit in car seats too.”

Meg shook her head. “Mommy said I’m too big.”

John felt another flare of anger in his chest, but he suppressed it in favor of convincing his niece to accept having to sit into the car seat. “Well, big girl, how about... you sit in the car seat, and when we’re at the aquarium, we get ice cream. As a special big girl treat.”

Meg perked up in his arms, and John knew that he had won. She didn’t even squirm as he buckled her into the her car seat- which he’d gotten as soon as she’d gotten too big for her baby seat.

John planted another kiss to the crown of her head, knowing that she was likely starved for affection and that he had to compensate for whatever Sarah wasn’t giving her.

Meg giggled happily and leaned forward, giving him a much less eloquent kiss on the cheek, and John couldn’t fight the grin away. It was the little moments like this that he loved and reminded him just why he was willing to fight tooth and nail with Sarah to be able to see Meg.

John got into the driver’s seat and started the car, feeling the hum of the engine beneath him. Thankfully, the aquarium wasn’t too far from his parent’s house, so he just had to make sure Meg didn’t get bored for twenty minutes.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John is trans change my mind

Meg had been suspiciously quiet the whole ride, which was strange for the little chatterbox. John glanced back at her in his rearview mirror as he pulled into a parking space- yup, just as he though; she’d conked right out.

John got out of the car approached her quietly, first unbuckling her before gently shaking her awake and quietly whispering, “Hey, Peanut.”

Meg looked at him groggily and rubbed at her eyes with her little fists. “Un’le John?” She mumbled, voice tired and full of sleep- a far cry from the excited little girl he’d been talking to not too long ago. Sometimes John forgot how quickly children’s moods could swing- though, the fact that Sarah had dropped her off at barely 8AM might have something to do with it. John knew kids were usually early birds, but he also knew that Meg didn’t usually get up at this hour.

John rested his elbow on the seat next to Meg’s and put his chin in his hand as he watched her in amusement. “You sleepy?” At her nod, he continued, “You wanna skip the aquarium and take a nap at Nana and Papa’s house?”

That had gotten Meg’s attention. She didn’t completely go from a sleepy bundle to the pile of energy she’d been before, but she did perk up, looking at him with her big brown eyes. “Aquarium?” She said earnestly, her voice still filled with sleep but with a tinge of excitement lining it.

“That’s right, Peanut,” John confirmed for her, unable to hide his amusement in his voice. “Want me to carry you inside?” At her nod, John scooped her up from under her arms, saying, “Up we go,” as he did so- though that was more out of habit at this point than anything else.

Meg snuggled close to him, nuzzling her face into his neck and grabbing a fistful of his shirt.

John bounced her gently, grabbing a backpack and slinging it over his shoulder- he was just breaking the habit of calling it a diaper bag, as the last time he’d done so Meg had thrown a tantrum explosive enough to rival the explosion of Pompeii, declaring she ‘wasn’t a baby’ and she ‘didn’t need no diapers’. He’d had to go through the bag item by item with her to show her that no, there weren’t any diapers in there, Uncle John wasn’t saying you were a baby, that’s just what the bag was named, can we please go to the zoo now?

“Eyes open, Peanut,” John hummed, bouncing her. “You don’t wanna miss anything, do you?”

Meg mumbled something unintelligible, and John glanced down at her to find that she’d stuffed some of his shirt into her mouth.

John chuckled at the sight, knowing he should discourage her from doing so, but also knowing it was too cute for him to not cherish. He knew that the time he had with her being so young was fleeting, and he wanted to appreciate every moment.

He ran his thumb over her cheek gently, heading to stand on the relatively short ticket line. “I don’t think my shirt tastes very good, sweetie.”

Meg let out a whine but opened her mouth enough that John could gently pull the fabric out and wipe the remaining spit off her face with his thumb. It was gross, sure, but not the grossest thing in the world- certainly not the grossest thing he’d had to deal with since she was born.

John bounced her a bit more and patted the back of her legs where his hand was resting. She was small enough that he only needed one arm to hold her, especially if he carried her on his hip. “What’s wrong, Peanut? You still sleepy, or is someone feelin’ shy today?”

John asked the question casually, but he couldn’t help but worry. Normally, Meg was a bundle of energy- she loved to run ahead of him, and the only thing that made it so he could keep up was that he had much longer legs. What if she was sick?

Meg looked up at him with wide brown eyes, biting her lower lip, and John felt his heart melt. “What if the fish don’t like me?”

A wave of relief crashed over John, and he couldn’t help but smile and chuckle as he shook his head. He thumbed at her lip gently so she’d stop biting it. “Of course the fish’ll like you, Peanut. If they didn’t, well, they’re just silly little fish.”

Meg giggled happily, visibly brightening up and parroting back at him, “Silly fish!”

“Silly fish,” John agreed, bopping her on the nose gently as he made his way to the front of the line. 

John pulled his wallet out from his back pocket, fumbling to get his debit card out single handedly- he didn’t want to put Meg down, but he had to pay for the tickets somehow. “One adult and one child ticket, please,” he said, handing the worker behind the counter the card.

“We’re gonna go see the fish!” Meg crooned happily at the worker, much more vibrant than she had been earlier.

The worker- who looked like someone John had graduated high school with, actually- smiled at Meg as she handed John the tickets and his debit card. “You are? Are you excited?”

“Yeah!” Meg said, bouncing happily in John’s arms, tiny fingers tangling into his hair. Once again, he realized having his shoulder-length hair not pulled back while he held a small child in his arms was a bad idea, but it was too late now.

“Say thank you to the nice lady, Peanut,” John said amusedly, adjusting his grip on her so she didn’t wiggle free. Honestly, he didn’t have a problem if she wanted down, but it was a long fall if she just dropped out of his arms. Plus, it was a bit of a struggle to breathe with her constant moving around, and the binder against his chest didn’t exactly help- though God save him, he wasn’t leaving home without it.

Meg waved happily, chirping, “Thank you, nice lady!” as she snuggled closer to John, free hand pulling out of his hair and thrumming against his shoulder.

John chuckled, tucking his debit card back into his wallet and putting it away as he headed to the inside of the aquarium. “Come on. In we go, honey.”


End file.
